Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Friday that there are no plans to intervene in the currency market to respond to the recent rise in the yen.
“At this point, the government is not thinking at all about intervening in the foreign-exchange market” to try to stem the yen’s strength, said Yosano, who is triple-hitting as the financial services and the economy and fiscal policy ministers, at a regular news conference. He said the government has not yet thoroughly analyzed the major factors behind the yen’s appreciation.
In New York at one point Thursday, the yen rose to as high as ¥93.96 to the dollar, its highest since mid-March.
After Yosano’s remarks Friday, the yen strengthened against the dollar in Tokyo and moved into the ¥93 range for the first time since February.
Yosano also said a government-proposed plan to use taxpayers’ money to buy equities from the market in the event a free-fall takes place in stock prices is losing momentum because the Nikkei stock average has recovered to the 9,000 level.
Earlier this year, the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition submitted a bill on ensuring the security of the stock market to the Diet.
Asked about the growing H1N1 flu outbreak, Yosano said the government must work closely with local authorities to minimize the impact on the economy and the public.
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